Dan Juday

The sheetmetal under the tailpanel is completely different from 240's to 280's. I would think the best way to do it would be to cut off an entire rear panel and weld it onto your 240. I would think this is the only way that the pieces would fit right and seal properly. But hey, what do I know about swappin' taillights?

I really wanted to highjack another thread, "Evil Kinevals 240Z", but I was good and started a new one. Please go there, on the Non Tech board, and read that one first then come back here to understand what I'm saying, we'll wait. It's ok, really we'll wait. Did ya'll catch that about how Tim doesn't really like to drive his Z? I don't mean to pick on you Tim. You just make a wonderful illustration for all the overexcited ones here that want the "ultimate Z". You did a beautiful job building that car, it is spectacular. You put in all the cool, sick, pissed off, parts, "racing seats, roll cage, 5 point harnesses, 300lb coil springs etc...... ". And now you can't drive it. Just like RCNSC said, "That's a shame". Our cars should be just as fun to drive as they were to build. That sounds strange, doesn't it? Lots of guys here have bone stock Z's that are not super fast but are a ball to drive. Why? Because they were BUILT TO BE DRIVERS!!! Guys we need to ask ourselves when we are about to order parts, "Is my car going to be a dedicated race car or a driver". Don't try to make it both. Compromises are ultimately unsatisfying. About this time you are looking at my sig pic and thinking, hypocrite! Not so. Yes my car looks extreme but it's really a pussy cat. Big tires, yes, but they are 15's not wagon wheels. Lots of tire height to smooth the pot holes. Roll bar, but not a restrictive cage. Coilovers with moderate rate springs. Not stock, but also not racing seats, they came out of a Starion. And no racing harness, standard three point belts out of a .......Honda! Hey, they work great. And what else does a driver need? A reliable STOCK motor. Yup, just the way it came from GM. I chose the motor I did because I didn't want to have to fiddle with it all the time. A strong torquey FI motor that just goes. My car is plenty quick, and I get so many compliments it's embarrassing. But best of all is that it starts every time and is as comfortable to drive as my wife's Suburban, but much more fun. It just breaks my heart to hear Tim call his car a garage queen. These cars were made to be driven!!!! Don't make your Z so fast that all it does is sit.

Do a search for Ron Tyler front diff mount. Pete P. has some nice pics. This mount will let you lower the nose of the diff for better alignment. It also doubles as a snubber so you don't have your driveshaft crashing into the parking brake parts.

Yipes! Could it be more "plain Jane"?

Pretty sure you're going to need a cowl. Look for posts from COZY-Z-COLE. That's Larry. He's the only one I know of on this site running a sbc with that blower on a Z. He uses a cowl hood.

Scott Trotter, a.k.a. strotter, had a system like that on his Z. I think I remember him saying it came off a truck of some sort. He's running a TBI set up but it looks like a carb to the aircleaner. He has since ditched it and is now using a more conventional type aircleaner. I have a K&N cone filter on my hybrid, but mine is a s.d. tpi so that doesn't count.

Didn't see that one, but back in '85 Car & Driver made a twin engine Honda CRX. They used automatic transmissions and basicly let the road balance everything out. According to them it worked peachy.

When we did the Tomahawk LT1 swap we had to deal with the sidepipes. The Tomahawk is lowered significantly and the trouble spot turned out not to be the sidepipes themselves but the place where you need to fit them under the frame rails. (Side note: the Tomahawk has openings cut in the fenders for the exhaust to exit so the pipes can be mounted up high, just below bottom edge of the doors.) We ended up notching and reinforcing the frame rails to provide enough ground clearance. We were already doing a bunch of welding to strenghen the frame so a little more didn't matter much.

I see a lot of the 1st gen Corvette in the Dodge Razor. Anybody else?

Ya. Sorry, the rest is stock GM.

Here is my solution. Corner bracket from Home Depot and a bicycle brake adjuster complete the "parts required list".

Excellent point John. Which brings back a thought I had a while back. Everyone po-poed it then but your post lends some merit to it that was previously unnoticed. What about cutting the top end off the strut tube and rethreading it? Yes, finding the right size tap may be difficult and spendy. And getting a tap that big started right may take a jig (or a lathe), but no worries about getting things aligned right and no welding. Any takers this time around?

I'm just yankin' Scott's chain. He's installing the A/C, just doesn't have it finished yet.

That's the same rear bumper I'm runnin'.

I ment it when I said nothing personal. I've got my own story about my Dad, some illegal fireworks, and a trip to the hospital. Absolutely you're not the only one! It just had to be said. (shug)

How do I be nice? Nothing personal. That's just so stupid. There, was I nice?

Yes, very cool. Phantom's car is in this months Classic Motorsports mag, and my car was in last months Kit Car Builder. Maybe Dan can put together some sort of registry here on the site for member cars in print.

The big difference is where do you want your scuff marks. On the bottom of your door jam or the top of your door? And, do you ever want your wife/girlfriend to ride with you?

17x10 $425 ea. You would still have to change to five lug hubs for this wheel but you spec the bolt center and backspacing. Billet Specialties has some styles that have center caps that cover the lugs (like the ones on my car) so you can stay with four lugs. They will also make you a 10" wide wheel on four lugs unlike Centerline. I found this to be a very reasonably priced compromize for a semi-custom wheel. http://www.billetspecialties.com/subcategory.asp?cid=16

Wait a minute! I smell a bit of deception here. You said, "with A/C". I know for a fact that your A/C system is completely empty. Add another 2 pounds for refrigarant. Get the facts straight or don't bother posting here, BUDDY!!! And you weigh 716 pounds? Oh, wait... well, let me re-check my math.

Yes, but I bet he'd be swelling with pride if he knew you ripped the Jap heart out of that import and transplanted a proper 'mericane motor in it.

Yes. This is the best answer.

Very cool Don! I see you got that thermostat installed properly. And I love your alternator pressure guage.

Best advice I can give you is read-up. Search the forums and read all the sticky threads, nubie threads, Ford motor swap threads. Get a JTR book and read. It's for the Chevy swap but will cover all the aspects of a V8 swap into a Z. The rearend in your 280 may be just fine for the V8. They came with either an R180 or an R200. The 200 is stronger and many of the guys run them with no problems. Many others also run the 180. If you're not drag racing or building a high HP motor the 180's can last for years behind a V8. Welcome to Hybrid.

If you are going to buy from Showcars save yourself the shipping cost and just flush your money down the toilet, same results. He's a fraud. The guy used pirated pics of my car to sell parts he doesn't even have molds for. I had to threaten legal action before he would remove the pics. Go to either Les or John Washington, a.k.a. Reaction Research. http://www.reactionresearch.com/automotivedetails.htm You won't be sorry with either of these legitimate outfits.